Zimbabwe army clears streets as election panel begs for ‘patience’

HARARE – Soldiers and police cleared the streets of central Harare on Thursday a day after a deadly crackdown on protestors as the Zimbabwean authorities begged for patience over the release of the results from landmark presidential elections.

The vote — the first since autocrat Robert Mugabe was ousted last year — turned bloody on Wednesday when troops opened fire on demonstrations against alleged electoral fraud, leaving three dead and prompting an international outcry.

The Zimbabwe Election Commission (ZEC) pleaded with the public to give it time to collate the results, vowing to release them before Saturday.

“ZEC implores the public to be patient as we collate the final results,” said ZEC commissioner Qhubani Moyo.

“Let me not give a specific time whether today or tomorrow, but there is significant progress that is happening.”

The government accused the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) opposition party of inciting the unrest and vowed to enforce a security clampdown.

But President Emmerson Mnangagwa said he wanted an independent investigation into the killings, and that he sought to settle differences “peacefully”.

On Thursday, soldiers were on guard outside the headquarters of the ruling ZANU-PF party, while armoured personnel carriers, water cannon trucks and police anti-riot vans took position outside the MDC headquarters.

The UN and former colonial power Britain expressed concern over the violence and urged restraint.

Under Mugabe, elections were often marred by fraud and deadly violence.

Of 210 parliamentary seats, 207 have been counted with ZANU-PF winning 144 and the MDC Alliance just 61.

Chamisa said the results were fraudulent.

“We have won this one together. No amount of results manipulation will alter your will,” he tweeted before the army was deployed on Wednesday.

AFP / Luis TATOSeveral hundred opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) supporters gathered outside the party headquarters in Harare, chanting and shouting that they had won the elections

ZEC chairwoman Priscilla Chigumba, a high court judge, has flatly denied allegations of bias and rejected accusations of rigging.

Mugabe, 94, voted in Harare on Monday alongside his wife Grace after he stunned observers by calling for voters to reject ZANU-PF, his former party.

Mnangagwa was the clear election front-runner, benefitting from tacit military support and state resources. But Chamisa, a lawyer and pastor, sought to tap into the youth and urban vote.

Mnangagwa was allegedly involved in violence and intimidation during the 2008 elections when then opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai pulled out of the run-off after attacks claimed the lives of at least 200 of his supporters.

AFP / John SAEKIZimbabwe since independence

If no presidential candidate wins at least 50 percent of the ballots cast in the first round, a run-off is scheduled for September 8.